3 Inside front cover Citation CORAF/WECARD: Proceedings of CORAF/WECARD 3 rd Agricultural Science Week and 10 th General Assembly, Ndjamena, Chad, 2012; Editors Paco Sereme & Harold Roy- Macauley CORAF/WECARD 2012 CORAF/WECARD encourages the fair use, without permission, of the materials published in this book of proceedings for agricultural research, development and educational purposes. Proper citation is requested. The designations used in the presentation of materials in this publication do not in any way imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of CORAF/WECARD concerning the legal status of any country, territory city, area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Published by CORAF/WECARD 7, Avenue Bourguiba BP 48 Dakar, cp Senegal Website: CORAF/WECARD Development Partners CIDA, USAID, AusAID, EU, DFID, SDC (Swedish), MAE, WB, UNDP, IFAD, SIDA, AfDB, ECOWAS, CEEAC, UEMOA, CEMAC, the CGIAR, FARA, CSIRO, FARA FAO, CTA, etc. Cover illustration shows a chronologic climate inducedchange of Lake Chad. Retrieved August 4, 2012 from 3

12 Forward CORAF/WECARD instituted a tradition of organizing an Agricultural Science Week biannually since The present Agricultural Science Week is the 3 rd and it comes after the first that was held in Yaoundé in 2008 and the second that took place in Cotonou in This 3 rd session is focused on the challenges of Climate Change, and how the agricultural system of West and Central Africa may cope with this new phenomenon which has added to the list of agricultural productivity constraints facing producers in rural communities. Climate change is probably the most challenging productivity constraint facing the sub-region. It is worsening dry spells in the Sahel zone, and increasing flooding in the coastal areas and humid zones. The choice of the theme: Empowering the rural poor population to adapt to climate change and variability in West and Central Africa could not have come at a better time. Climate change effect is elaborately demonstrated in the rapid drying-up of the historic Lake Chad the Lake s low water level in 2012 is recorded to be a most dramatic negative impact of climate change in the Sub-region. The Lake, which is no longer visible from space, used to support the livelihoods of more than 33 million people. Several causes have been invoked for such expression of climate change effects globally. Unsustainable use of forests causes about 17 per cent of the world s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The Congo Basin forest in the Central Africa zone of the CORAF/WECARD region is rapidly being depleted by unregulated logging which has been worsened by a series of civil conflicts. Such natural resources depletion degrades ecosystems, causes biodiversity loss, and has detrimental impact on the livelihoods of rural communities. In West and Central Africa, about 200 million people rely on forests and woodlands for their livelihoods. Agriculture is the main source of income in West and Central Africa, but most farmers work on small, subsistence parcels of land. Farmers in the region depend mostly on rainfall to grow their crops. This dependence on rainfall makes them vulnerable to the changing rainfall patterns and climactic variability caused by global warming. The agricultural production systems of the countries of the sub-region must therefore operate more climate-resilient systems so as to sustain livelihoods of the population. The countries need access to advanced technologies to adapt to the consequences of a changing climate as well as achieve better economic growth and social development without adding to greenhouse gas emissions. There are barriers to the rapid adoption of such resilient technologies, including high costs, import and export restrictions, inadequate government policies, institutional barriers, and a lack of experience and knowledge to operate and maintain such technologies. This 3 rd session on the CORAF/WECARD Agricultural Science Week was designed to address these challenges. These Proceedings contain scientific papers presented and recommendations of each plenary session. Although the opening and closing speeches of CORAF/WECARD Board chairperson, the Chadian President and Head of State, the Chadian Prime Minister, and the Chadian Minister of Agriculture have been paraphrased to some extent, they have been reported more or less verbatim, and were not meant to be translated. The Abstract for each technical paper has been presented in both English and French languages. The contributions to these Proceedings by the authors of the technical papers, skilled chairpersons of the various sessions, and the highly competent reporters are gratefully acknowledged. Paco Sérémé & Harold Roy-Macauley 12

16 Executive Summary A] Main Issues Raised In Plenary Sessions 1. Surface water loss: Climate change induced loss of surface water reserves such as observed at Lake Chad and major rivers of the West and Central Africa region was raised by the delegates as a major concern that needed immediate action. The urgency to take action in order to secure the livelihoods of the communities, especially for the 33 million people who depend on the Lake Chad basin resources for their livelihoods was echoed throughout the agricultural science week. 2. Technology development and use: The participants stressed the compelling need for investments in new technology development and in technology uptake systems to tackle the increasing susceptibility of crops to new diseases, insect pests, and worsening drought as a result of climate change. Given the known stability of plant physiological characteristics, therefore, the delegates called for more inclusion of physiological evidence in plant breeding and in new variety selection meant for climate change adaptation. With respect to intellectual property issues that might arise from new technology development, the plenary participants stressed the need for out-scaling research outputs through the private sector with full recognition of the intellectual property rights of scientists and their affiliated institutions. 3. Socio-political issues: Cognizant of the negative impacts of climate change, the need to address the socio-political dimensions of technology and innovation development, transfer and adoption was raised in plenary. The delegates posited that such socio-political dimensions should be considered and treated as important as the innovations themselves. This should include the development of computer models for science-based decision making for the benefit of the smallholder farmers. The plenary participants emphasized that advocacy for farm and crop insurances propositions should be appropriately conveyed, avoiding any miscommunication that may give an impression of an additional financial burden on the poor rural farmer. 4. Multi-stakeholder partnerships: The participants called for a strengthening of multi-stakeholder partnerships towards affirmative action in battling the effects of climate change in the sub-regional agriculture. Such efforts should include creating awareness amongst the youths, educating the communities on the challenges of climate change and the inclusion of gender issues in climate science. 5. Governance of agriculture: The future agriculture in the sub-region should emphasize improved governance and integrated management systems, including soil fertility as well as pests and diseases in crops. Such strategies should, as a necessary condition, include value chain actors in planning and decision-making. 6. Livestock and fisheries: The delegates posited that issues related to livestock and wildlife, forestry and fisheries development should be integrated into adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change and climate variability. Intensification of research on crop-livestock integration especially, as concerns wildlife protection and management, need to be increased. This was seen as especially useful in these times, as nomadic pastoralists begin to cover wider areas through free-grazing as a 16

17 result of pasture degradation due to climate change. This led to increased conflicts between farmers and pastoralists. The plenary expressed the need to initiate extensive ex-situ conservation of fisheries genetic resources, since some species were being rapidly lost as their natural spawning grounds get modified by climate change and increased human activity. Discussions in plenary revealed that some fish species were rapidly becoming extinct as a result of climate change. Some endemic species of fish, at Lake Chad falls, in this category,which might become completely extinct. When the lake become completely dried-out. Also, the plenary stressed the need for climate change adaptation strategies meant for coastal communities to include an intensive development of pisciculture and aquaculture systems, so as to reduce dependence on marine resources. 7. Climate Science The participants expressed an urgent need to revise the curricula of the Universities in the sub-region to include climate science education. Explicitly integrating climate science education into agricultural and rural development research, training, outreach and decision-making initiatives in the sub-region should adequately equip the institutions and communities to face the challenges of climate change. The plenary expressed that climate science should provide a window of opportunity to generate, collate, share and use appropriate and quality data, as well as provide analytical procedures which enhance sciencebased decision-making in the sub-region. 8. Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS): The participants noted that the subregion had a rich reservoir of IKS relevant to agricultural research and rural development. Therefore, sustained efforts to include the knowledge of local farmers into scientific research and the work of change agents through participatory research and development should facilitate innovation, technology development and transfer, and adaptation to climate change in the sub-region. 9. Value chains and market access: The delegates stressed on the improvement of value chain research as a key factor for agricultural research and sustainability in the sub-region. The importance of value chains and gender-related issues in the development of climate change adaptation strategies was emphasized. It was expressed that food processing and appropriate grain storage facilities needed to be emphasized in adaptation strategies to assist producers overcome the likelihood of accelerated food spoilages caused by changing temperatures and humidity as a result of climate change. 10. Human resource needs: The challenge of recruiting, training and retaining appropriate human capital to conduct research for development was emphasized. The need for human resources development plans in the national agriculture research systems was also discussed. The plenary called on the engagement of more scientists, and the provision of enabling research facilities for climate science. 11. Publication of NARS research results: The dearth of scientific publications from research outputs in the sub-region was decried by participants. They called for a more concerted effort to assist NARS Scientists publish their research results. This should encourage the use of scientifically generated knowledge in development in general, and in climate change adaptation specifically. 17

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